144 MHz Fall Sprint - 2023
Call: NV4B/R
Operator(s): NV4B
Station: NV4B/R
Class: Rover LP
QTH: AL
Operating Time (hrs): 4
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 45 Mults = 27 Total Score = 1,215
Club: Alabama Contest Group
Comments:
I had to start this one in motion a few minutes after the start as I volunteered
to teach a class on propagation to some prospective General Class hams. I
started at the SIGNALS Museum of Information Explosion in downtown Huntsville,
EM64qr. Having had some luck on 146.52 in Huntsville in prior Sprints, I
started there and made 8 QSOs in the first 10 minutes. I then tried 144.200,
but could not raise anyone, so off to FT8 I went for the trip to a new operating
location: Brow Park in Mentone, AL, EM74en.
Like the scenic overlook I've operated from in the past in EM74gv, the park is
on the western brow of Lookout Mountain. Although it generally is not as good
to the east, I still heard stations in SC even on my mobile antenna.
Unfortunately, by the time I arrived and got setup around 0140Z, activity had
already to started to slack off a good bit. Stations still popped up over the
course of my 45-minute stay there, resulting in a good number of Qs and mults,
with the best DX being a loud-as-always W5EME in EM32ai (504 mi). Conditions
generally seemed somewhat better than average. Several calls on 144.200 went
unanswered.
I headed out around 0220Z to try to make it to Gadsden an hour away and circle
the grid corner with K4CNY/R. Unlike our last attempt at this on 432, we were
able to make my EM74 and EM64 QSOs while still in motion -- the latter on SSB --
and remained on SSB while I clipped EM63, stopping briefly to give Laura time to
reach EM64 and EM63 herself, then went across the Coosa River to EM73 for Laura
to make one final trip around the corner. Within 7 minutes of me arriving at
Gadsden, we were done. I then went back to EM63xx and stopped to operate until
the end of the Sprint. Although most had long since gone QRT, especially those
just to my east in the Eastern Time Zone, I still found a couple of folks on
FT8, and in the last five minutes, I worked a station about 60 miles north in
EM64 on 144.200 CW for my only non-K4CNY/R non-FM analog Q of the Sprint.
In addition to the new EM74 operating location, another new thing I tried was a
different mobile antenna configuration. I recently acquired a 2-meter monoband
KU4AB loop. For this contest, I mounted it on the roof of the car using a quad
mag-mount and my usual 3/8" mobile mast. With better clearance, this
seemed to work much better than my normal trunk mount.
This is the best score claim I've made in a Sprint. Despite not being set up on
a hilltop until almost two hours into the Sprint (three for the EDT folks),
there was still a surprisingly good amount of activity. I also appreciate how
active the local Huntsville amateur community is, and how many folks still
monitor 146.52! It was fun, and I am energized going into the rest of Sprint
season.
Mode breakdown:
FT8 25
SSB 11
FM 8
CW 1
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|